Sue Rogers received a call last summer asking if she could take in an abandoned young bird. A construction crew discovered a nest while working on a parking ramp, and the mother never returned after they moved it. The Mia Foundation’s founder, Rogers, decided to take in the orphaned mourning dove.
She expected the dove, whose she named Lovey, to stay with her for only a few weeks before learning to eat and fly. When Rogers attempted to release Lovey into the wild, the bird would return to her deck a few hours later. Rogers put Lovey back inside the house as fall approached to shelter her from the cold. Lovey has complete control over Rogers’ home and is free to fly wherever she wants. But, until a little puppy named Alfie showed up, she never seemed interested in the other animals there.
“Alfie is eight weeks old, yet he looks like a baby,” Rogers told The Dodo. “He has a cleft palate, and I’m almost certain he has hydrocephalus (water on the brain), as well as a heart problem.” Alfie became more adventurous as he grew stronger under Rogers’ care, but at just 15 ounces, he’s too small to play with the other dogs in the house.
“He needed to start socializing,” Rogers explained, “so I let him go about the house a little bit during the day, supervised.” “However, he must be closely monitored.” Lovey took a fancy to Alfie right away, so it’s possible he identified another small orphan in need of a companion.
“Lovey is out flying about the house all day,” Rogers explained, “and I just saw that every time I set the puppy down, she would fly up to him.” “It’s like, ‘Does she think he’s a different bird?'” says the narrator. She doesn’t interact like that with any of the other dogs in the home because he’s about the same size as her, they’re the same color, and they’re about the same size.”
The two have established their distinct language and playing style.
Lovey adores piggyback rides on Alfie or following him around the house, softly hooting and nibbling at his fur. Rogers stated on Facebook, “They are the tiniest animals here, each in need of a buddy.” “On their own, they’ve developed this friendship!”
Alfie seemed to appreciate the company, and Rogers is overjoyed to see this sweet friendship bloom between her two tiniest pets. Rogers intends to release Lovey once the weather warms up in the hopes that she may find a flock of her own. But, for the time being, Alfie and Lovey are everything that each other requires.